Oral

Public health researchers and practitioners seek to expeditiously publish their findings in order to share them with the scientific and practice communities, thereby informing the public and advancing public health. In this information age, authors benefit from ever-evolving technology that permits electronic submission of papers at portals around the globe. A corollary is that an ever-increasing multitude of papers now arrive at the American Journal of Public Health (AJPH), many of which are only marginally related to public health or fail to meet minimum criteria for scientific and statistical rigor. This session will explicate our team-based approach to the screening and review of papers submitted to the AJPH. We will discuss the use of reporting guidelines for observational and experimental studies, and provide specific statistical guidance designed to maximize authors’ success publishing in the Journal. The panel will also discuss the recent reduction of time required for the process to proceed step-by-step from electronic submission by authors to formal online publication by production staff. To further reduce the time from submission to acceptance, the AJPH editors are asking authors to return their revisions sooner at every stage of the process, even as extensions are granted where warranted. To meaningfully reduce the time from acceptance to publication, however, the publisher is committed to online publication as the most efficient and sustainable mode. Just how this transition will evolve and what additional features will be made available to members, subscribers, and readers is the subject of continued study. The AJPH has long been mindful of the immensely vital task of the public health workforce in improving the health of the public and achieving equity in health care. Our purpose now is to better ensure our processes are scientifically sound yet broadly accessible, collaborative yet efficient, and fiscally responsible yet environmentally sustainable. It’s about time.

Session Objectives: Design the manuscript in a manner that results in a timely process to publication of high quality public health research in AJPH. Identify qualified reviewers. Analyze their related data used in their manuscripts with cutting edge statistical methods.